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Image by Manny Visuals @adefolarinnnn
STAND UP, SPEAK UP, SHUT UP!
Jaw War, a public speaking competition tagged as the biggest public speaking in Sub-Saharan Africa, an event where words are considered swords, an oral conflict between Faculties, Halls of Residence and now Universities in Nigeria championed by The Literary Debating Society, University of Ibadan.
What did we expect from JAW WAR 2023? Tagged “Disruptive Conversations: The African State in Perspective ”. A reply from the Literary and Debating Society President Neyen Williams, we are to expect “Highly cerebral arguments, Solid Logic, Intellectual bants, Witty punchlines and of course disruptive conversations.”
As known generally since its Revival in 2014, Jaw War is the most anticipated jaw-breaking, mouth scattering and mind-blowing public speaking event at the University of Ibadan, perhaps due to the nature of the competitors and their large support base. Surely there must be a standard for it to be considered the biggest. Are there solid logic and intellectual exchange of knowledge or is it just a legal platform for “Oral Barbarism”, if I may put it this way for UITES “Legal Aroism”?
Given the hype and the amount of preparation, the opening ceremony was an eyesore. Neither the speakers, nor sound systems were able to effectively communicate with the audience, and the murmuring from the supporters made it difficult for anyone to hear anything being spoken on stage. After the electricity supply was interrupted, and the audience was trapped in the hall because of the heavy downpour, the sole consolation for the students’ complete darkness was the DJ’s decision to keep the music playing. Furthermore, one would expect that the event organisers would provide means for cross ventilation given the vast number of crowds that grace the event. An intellectual gathering was turned into a Big Brother Naija event.
If by chance, you reading this is asked after every Jaw War event, What have you gained so far? As an intellectual “gbo gbo and gba gba” will you remember something solid from the arguments? An event with intense publicity that makes Freshman students post on their social media accounts “Jaw War is here, Stand up, Speak up, Shut up” with no experience with the event. With Students gathered in excitement and suspense, awaiting the start of something entertaining, I mean after all the “in not more than 7 pages, write an article on…” students need to smile and laugh and that exactly is why most attend this big event, the banters!
Considering the pattern being followed over the years, it seems like an event where Students gather like children in a Polygamous setting, sit and cheer as their mothers’ exchange banters and demeaning songs for whose turn is it to cook and share the ultimate prize which is the love of the father for the night. I mean, most are only excited with arms scattered and bodies tilted in laughter after hearing these demeaning words against the opponents and some don’t even get to hear anything, they are just excited at their friends’ laughter and join in the screams and roars without even knowing what’s going on.
Are there intellectual banters or are the standards dropping? When Courage from the Kenneth Mellanby Hall says “ Social media is already out there proving itself as a supreme source of misinformation”, I bet the crowd were not cheerful but I mean, the clap, screams and laughter when Amusan from the faculty of Basic Medical Sciences says ‘‘During the scarcity of cash, if you are offered a wad of cash you’ll question the authenticity of that cash. Therefore if anybody offers you free education, it is either of low quality or they are from the faculty of Technology.’’
As interesting as it may be, do most of the audience care for any intellectual gain or are the competitors preparing less information and more “intellectual banters” as put by Neyen Williams? If more banters appear in debates, what then are the aims of debates and on what basis are competitors judged? Is it worth the hype and are competitors creative enough to deliver ground-shattering discoveries in this year’s edition of the mother debate JAW WAR? This challenge is to the competitors to maintain and upgrade the standards and to the audience to gain as much as they can.
There is a need for the organisers of the event to re strategize and consult the founders of the initiative to seek explicit explanations of the vision and mission of Jawwar, and the motive behind the event. As they say, when the purpose is unknown, abuse is inevitable. Scrapping the event for a year or two for the sole purpose of reinvention is not a big deal. Without reinvention, there will continually be a decline in the quality of the audience year in and year out and the purpose of Jaw War will come crumbling down as a 8-storey building with a weak foundation.
The organizers should begin to research how to increase the quality of their audience and pick between quality and quantity. Does TLDS want a crowd or an audience that truly seeks to tap from the well of wisdom of the speakers? Does TLDS want the speakers to drive disruptive conversations among listeners after the event or a crowd that gear up when barbaric punchlines are thrown up against the opponents?
Jawwar 2023 continues, let’s watch how it unfolds.
